Climate-Driven Changes in the Nutritional Value and Food Safety of Legume Seeds.

Background/

Objectives

Leguminous plants (Fabaceae) are essential for global food and nutritional security due to their high protein content, bioactive compounds, and ecological role in nitrogen fixation. However, climate change poses significant threats to their productivity, quality, and safety. This review aims to summarize the nutritional, biochemical, and health-related importance of legumes, while highlighting the effects of climate change-particularly heat stress and pest pressure-on their nutritional value and public health implications.

Methods

This review is based on an integrative literature review drawing on scientific databases including Web of Science, Scopus, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar, and PubMed (March-October 2025). The relevant literature on climate change, legume composition, stress physiology, pest-plant interactions, and nutrition- and health-related outcomes was identified using targeted search terms. Evidence from diverse study types was synthesized to provide a broad, interdisciplinary perspective rather than a systematic assessment.

Results

Legume seeds are rich in proteins, complex carbohydrates, fibers, and essential fatty acids, and contain valuable phytochemicals, including polyphenols, carotenoids, saponins, and bioactive peptides, with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and cardioprotective effects. Nevertheless, elevated CO2 levels and temperature stress can reduce protein, iron, and zinc contents, while altering phenolic and isoflavone profiles. Simultaneously, warming enhances pest proliferation and fungal contamination, increasing mycotoxin exposure and associated health risks. Integrated pest management (IPM) strategies, particularly those emphasizing biological control, show promise in mitigating these risks while ensuring sustainable legume production.

Conclusions

Safeguarding the nutritional and ecological value of legumes under changing climatic conditions requires coordinated efforts across plant breeding, agronomy, and food science. Enhancing thermotolerance and pest resistance, reducing pesticide use through IPM, and valorizing legume by-products are key to preserving food safety and human health. Legumes, thus, represent both a challenge and an opportunity in achieving resilient, climate-smart nutrition systems for future generations.